About Us

The Microbiology Society is a professional body for scientists who work in all areas of microbiology. It has over 4,000 members worldwide who are based in universities, industry, hospitals and research institutes.

Blood cell infected with malaria parasite

Malaria is caused by the single-celled parasite Plasmodium. It is transmitted from one person to another by certain species of blood sucking mosquito. The parasite spends part of its complex life cycle inside red blood cells.

Dr Winkle Weinberg, an infectious diseases expert, reckons that when we have a cold and cough the virus particles can travel at 320 kilometres an hour and up to 900 metres. That is faster than a passenger jet at takeoff!

About Us

The Microbiology Society is a professional body for scientists who work in all areas of microbiology. It has over 4,000 members worldwide who are based in universities, industry, hospitals and research institutes.

Microbes and climate change

Microbes are involved in many processes, such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and are responsible for both the production and consumption of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Microbes could have various positive and negative feedback responses to temperature, but the extent of these is not completely understood. The reason is that microbes live in very diverse communities that interact with other organisms and the environment in complex ways, which makes it difficult to make predictions about the effects of microbes on climate change, but scientists are trying to include microbial activity in climate change models. What is certain is that human activities have helped to increase the production of greenhouse gases by microbes.